Freelance Whales

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Posted by Steven S., editorial manager

There’s this cool little indie rock band from Queens, New York, called the Freelance Whales, who have a particular way with a song. Comparisons to the Postal Service, Belle & Sebastian and Sufjan Stevens are all fine and flatteringly good, and it wouldn’t be too big a leap to throw in Efterklang and DeVotchKa in there as well, but this folk indie pop has a wealth of influences and an infectious sound that should allow them to stand on their own.

On the scene since the late-’00s, Judah Dadone, Doris Cellar, Chuck Criss, Jacob Hyman and Kevin Read (a group cobbled together from friends word-of-mouth and Craigslist) crashed through with a handful of spritely singles laden with melodic hooks. Throw in banjos, glockenspiels, mandolins, harmoniums and synthesizers, and you’ve got a band capable of greatly pleasing noise and great versatility.

With a sound honed in busy subways full of competing buskers, it was quickly gobbled up by fans and tastemakers wanting to use their music to help garner attention for Twitter reboots, cars and TV shows. We couldn’t resist the pull of their music either and recently used their song "Generator (First Floor)" in the spot above entitled “Sue.”

"Generator (First Floor)", taken from their debut album, Weathervanes, is that perfect song that strikes a chord and continues to evenly and deliciously melt around the brainpan, long after it ought to have faded away.